One Word
by SnowyIce
Summary: So this is a little twist of what I read into the meeting between Kintarou and Ryoma in one of OVA (The Prince of Naniwa). Didn't anyone else notice that Kintarou actually called him Echizen?


**Okay, so this is my first try at a fan fiction after reading hundreds of them. Not really sure how it went, but please give reviews as I'm curious as to what you think. Personally I think this pairing is a possibility, especially after reading The New Prince of Tennis. **

**Disclaimer:** As far as I'm aware of, I do not own The Prince of Tennis nor do I own the OVA episode this was inspired from

**One Word**

'Back in Japan again, huh.' The sun was baking as a boy with emerald hair walked through the streets of Osaka. The boy had slanted golden eyes, with sharp beautiful features, and lightly tanned skin. He had not been in this particular part of Japan previously, though he had heard this region was famous for their _takoyaki_. The emerald haired had not found any Ponta machines either, not since he left the train station. The heat was clearly bothering the boy as he was fanning his face with his cap in order to get some sort of cooling breeze. However, his attire probably contributed to the problem as he was wearing a black t-shirt with a white jacket covering it, along with blue skinny-jeans and red sneakers, with a tennis bag adorning his right shoulder.

'Maybe I should get some ice cream instead' he contemplated while eyeing different ice creams in various hands of passing pedestrians as he tucked away his cap. Noticing an especially promising sweet shop, the golden-eyed boy catches a glimpse of a familiar looking redhead who has his face glued excitedly to the store's window.

The emerald-haired boy wanders over in hope that the red-haired boy might have a generous heart today. While the boy in front of the store reached into his pocket to draw out his savings to count it, the emerald boy looked over said person's shoulder and eyed the money.

'One' the golden-eyed boy thought, 'not even enough for one person.'

The emerald-haired boy turned to walk away, just as the red-haired turned around.

"E.. Echizen?" The redhead questioned in a serious tone.

Echizen froze at that, not the response he had expected from the usually hyperactive, empty-headed kid.

Instead of his usual _Koshimae_, Kintarou had actually said his name and that in a tone Ryoma never would have expected to hear from him. A tone that held wonder, confusion, joy, and a trace of admiration.

This one moment, where Kintarou seemed to have dropped his guard, Ryoma was sure he caught a glimpse of what was hiding beneath the childish façade.

The attraction he had originally felt upon seeing Kintarou for the first time had never really blossomed, as Kintarou's personality was too childish, loud and obnoxious. Ryoma did grow a certain spark of interest after playing that one point match after the semifinal against Shitehoji; however, the personality was still a total turn-off but he did come to respect him as a rival.

That one word from this normally happy, carefree person had sparked an interest in him. Shocked over his own reaction to the simple statement of his name, Ryoma needed to school his features into his trademark smirk before he turned towards Kintarou:

"Hn, so it was an act after all."

Kintarou's eyes seemed to widen slightly in surprise at being caught off-guard but then his beaming smile shone through "KOSHIMAE."

'So much for that moment' Echizen though wryly while seeing Kintarou bounce around blabbering something about being in New York without realizing it. Ignoring the hyperactive kid, Ryoma turned around, ready to continue his search for his senpai-tachi. Kintarou was already shouting a challenge toward Ryoma, which said person clearly let fly by without taking notice.

Even with tennis balls shot at him, Ryoma was not in the mood to getting provoked into a match. It was not until Kintarou said he take Ryoma out for _takoyaki_ if he lost that Ryoma decided to return the shot and accept the challenge, a gleam in his eye. Maybe getting Kintarou at one-on-one with a meal would reveal more of the persona Ryoma just had a sneak peak at. Either way, he was finally getting his _takoyaki_.

**So what do you think? I know the conversation wasn't written out word for word, but this was the impression I was left with after the encounter XD**


End file.
